We know we should praise others around us -- everybody loves to feel appreciated. But we hold back, caught up in our own priorities or feeling uncomfortable when we tender praise. On The Happiness Project blog, writer Gretchen Rubin offers these tips for giving praise:

• Be specific about what you are praising. Vague praise doesn't make much of an impression.
• Find a way to praise sincerely. It's a rare individual or situation where you can't identify something that you honestly find praiseworthy.
• Never offer praise and ask for a favour in the same conversation. It makes the praise seem like a set-up.
• Don't over-praise. Keep your praise realistic -- and thus, credible.
• Look for something less obvious to praise - a more obscure accomplishment or quality that a person hasn't heard praised many times before.
• Don't hesitate to praise people who get a lot of praise already. Even people who get constant praise usually still crave praise.
• Praise is one time you should talk about people behind their backs. The praised person usually hears about the praise later, and such behind-the-back praise can seem more genuine than face-to-face praise.
• Beware when a person asks for your honest opinion. "This is often a clue that they're seeking reassurance, not candour," she says.
• Don't damn with faint praise, such as "you did a much better job than I expected." That's not praise anyone particularly wants to hear.

In an information age, with an infinite amount of information, there's an infinite amount of work we can do, notes careers columnist Penelope Trunk. That means your boss is probably giving you enough work every week to fill three weeks. But despite that she says if you are overworked the reason is you: To some extent you are choosing that situation.

On the Yahoo finance blog, she recommends four alternate choices:

• Force your boss to prioritize. Tell him or her, "If you want me to do project z perfectly, then you need to get projects w, x, and y off my plate."
• If your boss won't prioritize, do it yourself. It's known as cutting corners -- and it's an option you must take. "Do everything very quickly, and ignore the idea that it needs to be done perfectly -- it can't all be done perfectly. Your boss refuses to prioritize for you, so you'll have to do everything as best as you can," she says.
• Get comfortable with ignoring some tasks. Experiment and see which things can fall through cracks without anyone noticing.
• Stop complaining before it ruins your life. Instead, take control of your life. And she advises you not to worry about being fired for not doing all the work: You probably didn't (or shouldn't) want to work at the company anyway.

In his book Stranger In A Strange Land, science fiction writer Robert Heinlein invented a profession where people are trained to be absolutely impartial in their assessments and to speak only from direct observation, without inference or speculation. If you point to a white horse, for example, and ask one of the members of this "Fair Witness" group what colour it is, you will be told, "It appears to be painted white on this side." Only the facts, as known.

On ChangeThis Manifestos, consultant Erika Andersen recommends you cultivate this ability during strategy sessions as you evaluate the situation you face. "Are you stating things as they really are, or as you'd like them to be? Are you neglecting or ignoring facts that aren't comfortable or convenient? Are you assuming some things aren't important simply because you don't want to factor them into your thinking?" she asks. Instead, be a fair witness.

Which of these articles are you more likely to read: "Attracting Customers Using Case Studies" or "10 Ways To Attract Customers Using Case Studies?" Communications consultant Lynda Goldman figures it's the headline with a number in it. And that's a good reason for you to take that approach in framing information for your brochures, web sites, and other marketing material.

In her Communications Capsules newsletter, she says numbers sell because they arouse curiosity: The person sees the number, starts compiling her own list, and then wants to compare it to your list. Numbers also provide a focus for the reader, and a specific promise of what the article will have. Finally, our brains assimilate information easier when it's structured in groups.

• A study by the Center For Creative Leadership found three personality traits predict career success. Vigilance (the tendency to not trust others) and abstractedness (the tendency to take a conceptual approach to things -- in the extreme, daydreaming or being absent-minded) are correlated with career derailment. On the other hand, privateness (keeping personal information to oneself) correlates with career success. (Source: GreatLeadershipByDan.com)
• Consultant Lisa Haneberg says each day at work there are moments of truth -- moments that test our commitment to do extraordinary work, moments that reveal the truth about who we are and what we care about. Watch for them. (Source: Management Craft)
• Good managers know what their individual employees like to do -- which tasks they prefer and what projects motivate them. But more than that, blogger Steven DeMaio says, you should find out why someone has those preferences. He cites an employee who was enthused about a customer feedback survey project she just completed. You may determine she enjoys that kind of survey research, and when enjoyment flows from her interest in a specific product, you would be wise to assign her to work with it more. (Source: Harvard Business School Blogs)
• Consultant Charles Green says what sticks with customers is not your rationally conceived "value proposition" -- such as price and target market and needs you aim to satisfy -- but emotional factors such as "reliability," "caring about my business," "saving me time," "and making me smarter." (Source: RainToday.com)
• We often pine for a two-week vacation to give us a breather from work. But blogger Jonathan Mead says that often what we need is just two minutes. When you pull up in your driveway, take a couple of minutes to relax and breathe. Turn off the radio, and sit in silence. Enjoy the space. (Source: Zen Habits blog)

6. Q&A with 8020Info: Building Customer Loyalty         Top

Question: How can I build more customer loyalty?